Ex-Norwalk man pleads guilty to gang rape

A former Norwalk man is facing a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in Stamford Superior Court to taking part in the gang rape of a New Canaan woman.

Wilkens Placide, 25, pleaded guilty to reduced charges of third-degree sexual assault and first-degree unlawful restraint under the Alford Doctrine -- which means the defendant does not admit his guilt but admits that evidence in the case could convince a jury of his guilt.

He received a suggested sentence of 10 years in prison -- suspended after three years served -- and 15 months of probation. In addition, he must register as a sex offender and attend sex offender and substance abuse treatment.

Placide's co-defendant, 28-year-old Catragne Moresca of Stamford, pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine to third-degree sexual assault, first-degree unlawful restraint and tampering with a witness on Wednesday and also received a 10-year sentence, suspended after four years served. Moresca must also register as a sex offender.

Moresca and Placide are scheduled to be sentenced June 12.

Placide and Moresca were among four men charged in the incident. Cliff Cenelien and Carl Collas, both of Stamford, pleaded guilty to first-degree unlawful restraint. They're serving sentences of five years suspended after two years served.

According to an affidavit, the victim told police that a man she later identified as Moresca picked her up in his car the evening of July 30, 2007. She said Moresca had previously sold her crack and that she had no other connection to him. He took her to a home on Ludlow Street where she drank and ingested marijuana, cocaine and crack.

Placide, whom she knew only as "Cliff," allegedly raped her at that location after she resisted sexual advances. The victim said she was also raped by Moresca, then driven against her will to two other houses and raped by Collas and Cenelien.

The victim also told police she suspected Moresca may have collected money from her alleged attackers, the affidavit states.